Weekly Update RPMS Mar 3

Good afternoon-

We had an amazing time celebrating the work of our students and the diversity of our community this week. Multicultural night featured student performances and demonstrations that highlighted countries around the world. Thank you to all of our students that presented! Thank you to all of our staff that supported the event! And thank you to all of the community members that attended!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Stephen Reck, Principal

In this message, I will address the following topics:

1. Arrival/Departure Safety Reminders
2. Drinks and Headphones at School
3. PTA Dine Out Fundraiser - Ledo Pizza March 11
4. IXL Incentives for Math
5. Math Support Videos
6. After School Activities
7. Attendance Reminders
8. Yearbook Sale
9. SSL Updates
10. Grade Level Assignments Summary
11. Upcoming Important Dates & Events
12. Updates from our PTA

As the weather warms, we have more students walking to school. Here are a few reminders to ensure student safety during arrival and dismissal.

• Do NOT drop off students form your car along Olney Mill Rd. This creates unsafe walking conditions and backs up traffic.
• Pedestrians must use crosswalks to ensure visibility and safety.
• The safest place to drop off students from your car is in the north-side parking lot drop off loop.
• If bus transportation is provided, please encourage your child to take the bus. This minimizes the number of vehicles on the road and ensures students arrive to school on time.

Thank you for your partnership in our commitment to safety.

We are seeing more students carrying drinks without lids and more students sharing drinks amongst themselves. This is leading to an increase in spills, disruptions, and unsanitary conditions. As a reminder, with the exception of refillable water bottles, drinks are not permitted in our hallways and classrooms.

We are also seeing more students wearing headphones in our building. As outlined in our personal electronics policy, bluetooth headphones are not permitted during the school day (like phones). If students need headphones for class, they are provided by the school or they can use their own wired headphones.

Thank you for supporting our school policies. Our goal is a welcoming, distraction-free, and safe learning environment.

Eat at Ledo Pizza this Tuesday, March 11 and raise money for our school! Ledo Pizza will donate 20% of all sales to our PTA if you show them this picture or use coupon code Fundraiser online. The offer applies to dine-in or carry out orders between 4-9pm.

Enjoy a a Maryland tradition while supporting RPMS!

The IXL incentives program has begun at RPMS! Students are encouraged to participate in IXL by meeting bi-weekly goals and are rewarded for their efforts. Please see this video link for more information. You can also contact Aimee Conway – Aimee_R_Conway@mcpmd.org

Thank you for supporting your child in their efforts to improve their math skills!

For students in Math 6, Math 7, Math 8 and Algebra 1, here are some videos you can access from Illustrative Math that summarize chunks of lessons for each course.

Soccer tryouts are this week from Tuesday, March 11th through Thursday, March 13th. Students should be registered on-line through ParentVUE and have proof of a physical within the last two years before they come to tryouts on Tuesday. More information on our website or by emailing Barbara_A_Becker@mcpsmd.org.

Our After-School Activities webpage can be accessed through this link. It has extensive information on what programs are offered, when they are offered, and how to sign up. Bus transportation is provided on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. You can find the bus routes through this link. Students participating in Friday activities must provide their own transportation.

This spreadsheet contains start date information, sponsor information, and further details about the many after-school activities we offer at RPMS. It is updated regularly. For questions about specific clubs, please contact the sponsor listed on the spreadsheet.

School attendance is one of the biggest indicators of student success and a key component of our school's Maryland Report Card. At our own school, over 140 RPMS students were chronically absent last year. Maryland defines chronically absent as being out of school for 10% or more of the total number of school days (this includes excused and unexcused absences).

Illness and family responsibilities happen and the school understands that many absences are unavoidable. If your child is absent from school, you can submit an excuse note here. If you are looking for help in improving your child's school attendance, our counseling team is available to help.

The graphic below outlines the impact of the number of absences per school year.

Rosa Parks families, we are happy to announce that our yearbook link is up and active. Just use the link to buy the yearbook as well as to upload photos for possible inclusion in the book. Purchase early because prices increase after December 31st and submit lots of photos including those adorable 8th grade baby photos!

Awards season is approaching! Please note, this year's deadline for verification form submission to be counted toward the Superintendent's SSL Award is April 4, 2025. Course-based hours for the current school year (for example, hours for Science 6 for a current 6th grade student, hours for English 7 for a current 7th grade student, or hours for US History 8 for a current 8th grade student) will not be calculated toward spring awards, as these hours do not attach to student records until final report cards in June. Please plan accordingly.

The most recent SSL verification form due date was Friday, January 3. Students are encouraged to submit forms by these interim due dates, but they may submit forms for any service completed this school year up to deadline of May 30, 2025.

Upcoming SSL opportunities: https://bit.ly/Feb-SSL Please submit SSL verification forms digitally whenever possible through the RPMS Google Site: https://bit.ly/SSL-RPMS.

Please contact Mrs. Sarah Lewis, SSL Coordinator, with any questions about the SSL program: sarah_f_lewis@mcpsmd.org

March 11 - 8th Grade Rock and Roll Revival Field Trip

March 18 - Orchestra Festival (during school)

March 27 - Band Festival (during school)

March 31 - No School - End of Quarter 3

April 3 - 7th Grade Medieval Times Field Trip

April 12 to 22 - Spring Break

Here is more information about the RPMS PTA:

🔗 Check it out here: https://linktr.ee/rpmsptsa